6/30/2018

HOW PRAYING CHRISTIANS GAVE BIRTH TO AMERICA

America’s founding generation was a praying generation.
Their belief in the power of prayer was both a present conviction and a tradition
going back to the very first immigrants to this land. For example, the very
first act of the Jamestown settlers on disembarking at Cape Henry, VA in April of
1607, was to erect a seven-foot oak cross they had brought from England. They
then gathered around the cross for a prayer service in which they dedicated
the land of their new home to God.

Before the Pilgrims departed Holland in July 1620 for the
New World, they set apart an entire day to pray and ask God’s blessing on their
venture of faith. William Bradford said that after their pastor, John Robinson,
brought an exhortation from Scripture, “The rest
of the time was spent in pouring our prayers to the Lord with great fervency,
mixed with abundance of tears” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 23-24).

In the New World, the Pilgrims, and the Puritans who
followed them, met every challenge with prayer and would often set aside special days for prayer, fasting and thanksgiving.
This prayer habit became a part of the cultural experience of New England and
was practiced by succeeding generations. This prayer practice found its way into American culture and its influence can still be seen and felt today, although there are stringent efforts to remove it.

A Great Prayer Awakening

After a time of spiritual decline in the late 1600s, a
Great Awakening, beginning in 1726, profoundly impacted the Colonies and
restored the spirit and culture of prayer to the populace. In his Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of
the change that came over his hometown of Philadelphia when George Whitefield
preached there in 1739. He wrote,

The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons
were enormous, and it was a matter of speculation to me, who was one of the
number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers.
From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the
world were growing religious so that one could not walk through the town in an
evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street
(Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 102).

Similar reports emerged from Georgia to New England of
entire communities being transformed by the Awakening. A spirit of prayer seemed to be unleashed throughout Colonial America. In New England, Jonathan
Edwards, pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, MA, reported that “the
entire town seemed to full of the presence of God.” Prayer could be heard, not
just at church, but in homes and everywhere one went in the town.

The
First Continental Congress Begins with Fervent Prayer

It is, therefore, no great surprise that the First Continental
Congress, that met for the first time on September 5, 1774, opened with Bible
reading and prayer. With British troops occupying Boston and having closed the
Boston port, this was no formal prayer ritual, but a sincere lifting of their
hearts to God, asking for His assistance and intervention in their fight for
liberty.

The delegates asked an elderly, grey-haired
Anglican minister, Jacob Dusche, to lead them in prayer. Dusche began
by reading the entire 35thPsalm,
which powerfully impacted everyone present. It is a prayer of David for
deliverance and begins with the words, Plead my cause O LORD with those who
strive against me; fight against those who fight against me. The Psalm ends
with praise for God’s deliverance.

As the Psalm was read, a unique sense of God’s presence
filled the room and tears flowed from many eyes. John Adams wrote to his wife,
Abigail, of the impact of the Bible reading and prayer on the delegates. He wrote,

Who can realize the emotions with
which they turned imploringly to heaven for divine
interposition and aid. It was enough to melt a heart of stone. I never saw a
greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm
to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific
Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 122).

After reading the Psalm, Dusche began praying for the
delegates, for America and especially for the city ofBoston and its inhabitants
who were under siege. As he began
praying, the Anglicans, such as George Washington and Richard Henry Lee,
knelt in prayer, according to their custom. The Puritans, according to their
custom, sat with bowed heads and prayed. Others prayed according to their own,
unique customs. But although their outward manners differed, there was a
singleness of heart and purpose as they all united in fervent prayer for God’s
assistance and intervention for America.

The
Congress and the Nation Pray

Prayer continued to be a daily part of the proceedings of
the Continental Congresses. When, years later, Benjamin Franklin called the
delegates of the Constitutional Convention to prayer, he reminded them, “In the
beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible to danger,
we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 144).

In addition to the daily prayers, the Congress issued no less
than fifteen separate calls for special days of prayer and fasting during the Revolutionary War. For
example, during the fall of 1776, when the morale of the army and populace had
sunk to an all-time low because of a poor harvest and hardship on the
battlefield, Congress proclaimed December 11, 1776, as a Day of Fasting and
Repentance.

John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian Reformer and member
of the Congress, was deputized to write the proclamation, which was then
approved by the rest of the Congress. It reads, in part,

WHEREAS, the war in which the United States are engaged
with Great Britain, has not only been prolonged, but is likely to be carried to
the greatest extremity; and whence it becomes all public bodies, as well as
private persons, to reverence the Providence of God, and look up to him as the
supreme disposer of all events, and the arbiter of the fate of nations;
therefore; RESOLVED, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon
as possible, to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation; to implore of
Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and
to beg the assistance of his Providence in the prosecution of the present just
and necessary war (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 123-24).

There was an amazing change of circumstances after this and
succeeding days of prayer, with successes on the battlefield and the reaping of
abundant harvests. There was, in fact, such a turnaround
that in 1779 Congress issued a proclamation setting aside a day of
thanksgiving, because “it hath pleased Almighty God, the father of mercies,
remarkably to assist and support the United States of America in their
important struggle for liberty.”

The Congress then listed seven
different accomplishments of God on the behalf of the nation,
including “many instances of prowess and success in our armies” and “so great
abundance of the fruits of the earth of every kind, as not only to enable us to
easily to supply the wants of the army, but gives comfort and happiness to the
whole people” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots,
124).

Yes, the founding generation saw answers to their
prayers. Indeed, when Franklin called the Constitutional Convention to prayer
in 1787, he not only reminded them of the daily prayer during the War, but also
that the prayers were answered. Addressing the Convention president, George
Washington, he said, “Our prayers, sir, were heard and they were graciously
answered” (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots,
144).

Washington
Makes Prayer a Daily Routine for the Colonial Army

The Second Continental Congress, which convened on May 10, 1775, asked George Washington to become commander-in-chief
of the ragtag Colonial militias and to transform them into an army that could
face the mighty British war machine. Washington accepted the call and began
immediately to instill in the Colonial troops a very real faith in God, for as the
Catholic scholar, William Novak, says,

Washington knew his only hope lay in a profound
conviction in the hearts and daily actions of all his men that what they did they did for God, and under God’s
protection (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots,
128).

Washington, therefore, issued an order that each day was
to begin with prayer led by the officers of each unit. He also ordered that, unless their duties required them to be
elsewhere, every soldier was to observe, “a punctual attendance of Divine
services, to implore the blessing of heaven upon the means used for our safety
and public defense.”

Washington also issued an order forbidding profanity and
drunkenness; and in a general letter to his troops, he said, “The
General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and
act as becomes a Christian soldier.”

That Washington himself was a devout
person of prayer was confirmed by Isaac Potts, a Quaker who lived near Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania, when the Continental Army, led by Washington, was
wintering there under much duress in 1777-78. Potts was a pacifist who opposed
the war until he had a life-changing experience while riding through the woods
one day during, perhaps, the bleakest period of the war. He said,

I heard a
plaintive sound as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling and went
quietly into the woods and to my astonishment I saw
the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one
side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine
aid, as it was ye Crisis, and the cause of the country, of humanity and of the
world. Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone
praying. I went home and told my wife I saw a sight and heard today what I
never saw or heard before, and just related to her what I had seen and heard
and observed. We never thought a man could be a soldier and a Christian, but if
there is one in the world, it is Washington (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 129).

Washington’s
Earnest Prayer for America

The
many prayers were heard and the unthinkable happened: The American Colonists
defeated the mighty British army. The War officially ended on October 19, 1781
when General Cornwallis surrendered his entire force to Washington. In
customary fashion, Cornwallis turned his sword over to Washington, and the
weaponry of his troops was stacked in neat piles. As this occurred the British
band played, “The World Turned Upside Down.” For freedom-loving people
everywhere, however, the world had been turned right side up.

Having completed his call, Washington issued a letter of
resignation as Commander-In-Chief to the Continental Congress. Then, he wrote
what could be described as a pastoral letter, dated June 14, 1783, to the
governors of the various states. This letter
included his “earnest prayer” that is here quoted in part. He wrote,

I
now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you,
and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would
incline the hearts of the citizens . . . to entertain a brotherly affection and
love for one another . . . and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility,
and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author
of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of His example in these
things, we can never hope to be a happy nation (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 129).

After
being sworn in as president, George Washington issued a proclamation
designating November 26, 1789 as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer. The proclamation
assumes the obligation of all citizens to honor God and to pray for His
protection and favor. It opened with the following statement.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of
Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for
his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both
Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to
the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be
observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of
Almighty God . . ..

Prayer
is American

Yes, prayer played a vital role in the founding of
America. Novak is correct when he says, “In all moments of imminent danger, as
in the first Act of the First Continental
Congress, the founding generation turned to prayer.”

Seeing the vital role of prayer in the founding of this
nation, let us not be intimidated by the assertion that prayer is somehow
inappropriate for public or political venues. Let us be bold in our faith. Let
us be salt and light in this generation. Let us pray. It is the godly thing to
do! IT IS THE AMERICAN THING TO DO!

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LAYING THE BIBLICAL & HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR ANOTHER GREAT SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

In 2010 Dr. Eddie Hyatt experienced a visitation from God lasting some 7-8 hours in which he was assured that America "could" see another Great Spiritual Awakening that would alter the course of the nation. Out of that experiecne came the book, "Pilgrims and Patriots," that Pat Robertson called " a must-read." From the book, Dr. Hyatt developed a PowerPoint presentation entitled "America Reawaekning," that in 3 sessions, documents how this nation was birthed out of prayer and spiritual awakening. If you would like to sceudule one of these events, you can email him at dreddiehyatt@gmail.com.